Botswana: Down in the Delta

Okavango Delta

After saying goodbye to Namibia and crossing the border into Botswana, the group made our way to Umvuvu Camp within the Okavango Delta. The world heritage site is home to all sorts of birds, snakes, crocodiles and hippopotamuses and is one of Botswana’s main tourist attractions. Upon arrival we met our "polers," local people from the delta who would guide us down the river in little dugout canoes called mokoros. The river is quite shallow at this time of year and the polers use large sticks to push the boats through the reeds. We travel along small channels that have been created by hungry hippopotamuses eating their way through the delta.

The group was ferrying all of our gear for two nights on the river. The first night we were staying in a bush camp (no facilities) located on a island in the river. The second night would be at the actual Umvuvu tented camp across the river. Lucy and I loaded our gear into "Shakira's" mokoro and started our adventure down the Okavango. The first thing you notice upon sitting in the mokoro is just how close you are to the water. You are sitting much lower than in a traditional canoe and this caused a bit of worry for a few members of our group since we would be sharing the river with hippos, snakes, and crocodiles. Fortunately we all made it to the island without incident and the fears subsided soon after our first trip. I loved the experience. It was so serene to be on the water, pushing through the reeds and the water lilies, viewing the wildlife from the comfort of your canoe.

Shakira (yes, I am assuming this is a nickname) told us all about the wildlife that can be found on the delta. He was very knowledgeable and kind. He helped Lucy and I with our tent and we spent the rest of the day just taking life easy around the campsite. Just before sunset, we took another ride in the mokoro to watch some of the hippos in the area. There were about 6-8 hippos active in the river at that time. They were a safe distance away and everyone enjoyed watching the sun set over a pod of hippos.

Cruising on the Okavango River

We saw a lot of wildlife from our little mokoro!

Okavango Delta

Rose had told us that we were expected to come up with a song to sing for the local people since they would sing for us after dinner. The group decided to split up by regional group and perform a song of their choosing. The Aussies sung a childhood classic, the German speaking contingent sang Heidi, and the British Isles sang some version of London burning. The North Americans sang "Old MacDonald" with a twist using our guide's name and African animals. What we lacked in singing ability we made up for in hand gestures. Everyone had a lot of fun.

Nighttime entertainment consisted of dancing and singing songs around the fire with our local friends

The next day, we boarded the mokoros and made our way to the tented campsite. It was a definite upgrade from the bush camp! We had large tents with beds in them, a functioning bathroom, and open air showers. The water was cold but after a hot day in the sun, you really didn't mind. 

Umvuvu Camp - the wildlife was close... a bit too close for comfort! 

Part of the activities that day was learning to row a mokoro. Several of us gave it a try, it was definitely a lot harder than it looked! It was hard to keep your balance and steering was a definite challenge. I was glad to hand my pole back into my guide after a short ride.

A great aerial shot of the group on the Delta (courtesy of Joel), camp activities including volleyball, mokoro training, and my favorite - chilling at the bar.

As soon as the sun went down, we began to hear the birds and the animals in the surrounding forest become active. We also started to hear the hippos on the banks below stir and grunt to one another. Hippos are nocturnal and are quite dangerous. You do not want to come across one because they are very territorial and can kill people. We were told to be careful going to the toilet at night because of the surrounding wildlife. You needed to shine your flashlight around the area before exiting the tent. I went to bed relatively early that night and woke up around midnight having to go to the bathroom. The toilets were on the far side of the campground (that was poor planning in my opinion) and the hippos were making a ruckus outside. There was a large dirt wall separating the tents from the hippos, but it is still a bit unnerving just the same. There was no way I could hold it so I just grabbed my headlamp and headed outside. I walked about halfway to the bathroom and heard sticks breaking in the distance. I decided to forego the toilet block, pee on a nearby bush, and make it back to my tent. I was up for the next two hours listening to all of the animals outside. Again, it was nice to be "in nature" but the animals were a bit too close for comfort!

The next morning it turns out a herd of elephants had been in the campsite (hence the breaking branches) near the toilet block. I am so glad I didn't stumble upon them in the dark! It was a great adventure in the wilderness and after another short mokoro ride we bid our new friends and the Okavango Delta goodbye.

Overlanding... a day in the life

Overland tours are different from most tours for a variety of reasons. You typically have a lot of ground to cover in a short period of time, often in remote areas where accommodation and services are limited. Because of this, you will travel in a large truck carrying all of your gear and food with you. The tours are "participatory camping" where everyone pitches in and sets up camp every night, helps prepare the food during the day, and washes up at night. As we are often reminded by our guide, "it's not a holiday, it's an adventure!"

My first overland tour was through Kenya, Uganda, and Rwanda last year. I'm not going to lie...  it was tough. I was sick the entire time I was in Africa on that trip and the last thing you want to do after 8+hours on the road is set up a tent and wash dishes. I never felt like we had a lot of free time to do much of anything else. Overlanding was not my thing. I had always wanted to do the Cape Town to Vic Falls tour but after my first experience, I was turned off on spending more time in a large truck rolling through Africa. A woman I met on that tour convinced me otherwise. Shelly had done the overland portion from Cape Town to Vic Falls and assured me that it was much more relaxed and enjoyable than its East Africa counterpart. She was right. I knew what I was getting into from day 1 and I have thoroughly enjoyed myself over the past three weeks. I haven't minded the truck, the camping, the bush toilets, or the cleaning up as much as I did before. I think not being sick makes a huge difference. Also after sleeping in a crowded dorm for 6 weeks on the Camino, the truck with 19 other people is a breeze.

The campsites have been varied and actually really nice. We've had modern facilities for the majority of the trip and many of the campgrounds have pools and a bar. WiFi is sketchy, but it is nice to disconnect every now and then. We store all of our bags in lockers on the truck and take over the seats with all of our things. There is a charging station for electronics (always a bit of a battle) and just about every camping necessity you can think of is stored in one compartment underneath the truck. It's our rolling home, one we become quite familiar with over the course of three weeks!

Modes of Transport, Charging Battle, Tent Pitching and Dishes in the Dark

A campsite sample

 Well, I think I will leave it here and enjoy some of the Botswanan sunshine. Thanks for reading!